"The Personification of Perfection" Michael James
Michael James is a Japanese professional wrestler from Fujisawa, Japan. He is currenty employed by the Hardcore Wrestling Alliance where he holds the HWA All Star Championship. Professional Career James began his leap into the world of professional wrestling at the age of 19 upon receiving a job offer at a local gym in Osaka, Japan. He began employment working as a sparring partner for men training with martial arts. Soon after taking the job he gradually began to point his attention towards professional wrestling when a group of men working for All Japan Pro Wrestling began to train at the gym where he worked. James expressed his interest towards the men who mocked him at first. As weeks went by he continued to demand to begin training with them until one of the wrestlers was generous enough to help him. He was trained with a style known as Puroresu, a custom fighting style practiced by the majority of wrestlers in Japan, which James easily adapted to due to his experience he had training in martial arts as a child. After spending three weeks training, he enrolled himself in a developmental wrestling company out of Tokyo. Within a matter of weeks, James became the top ranked fighter in the company and was offered employment with a variety of established promotions in Japan. For three years solid, James works as a free lance agent in a number of wrestling companies and tournaments throughout Japan. Mostly independent companies focusing on traditional style wrestling combined with the new age brand of Japanese hardcore which eventually placed James in a series of horrific deathmatches. By the age of 23, James was offered a contract to compete in a King of the Deathmatch tournament that was hosted by Mid-Atlantic Wresting Alliance, giving James his first opportunity to compete in the United States. *'Mid Atlantic Wrestling Alliance (MWA) ' In the summer of 1999, Michael James entered the official King of the Deathmatch tournament hosted by the Mid Atlantic Wrestling Alliance. Over the course of three weeks James was able to run through a variety of established opponents. In the final match of the tournament he was placed against Kris Storm where he was able to win the contest by pin fall. Thanks to his victory of the tournament James was able to capture his first American championship while earning the reputation of the “biggest asshole on the roster”. Unfortunately, the promotion folded close to three months after James won the championship. Instead of going back to Japan he decided to seek out new opportunities for employment. A few weeks later he was offered a new contract with a promotion based out of Dallas, Texas. *'Hardkore Fanatics Wrestling (HFW) ' The HFW was an unorthodox promotion ran by a young entrepreneur named Jose Hernandez. He was a long time fan of the “extreme” era smash mouth style of professional wrestling and wanted to create something similar to what he saw in Paul Heyman’s ECW. In late ’99, the HFW opened its doors and began to accept applications from a variety of wrestlers that were more than willing to help Hernandez bring his vision to life. Jose had been hearing rumors about James’ work in the MWA and decided to give him a chance after hearing about his current situation. Over a matter of weeks, Michael James was able to run through a majority of the company’s competition in an effort to earn a shot at the promotion’s World Championship. Despite his requests, the company’s vice president Mike Tomik did not agree with the way James conducted business. Instead of allowing him a shot at the world championship he began to force the company’s mid card players to face Michael James on a regular basis. In an effort to smite Tomik’s efforts, James won the HFW Slaughterhouse Championship from a man that was hired to end his career. A few weeks later James was placed into a huge main event planned for the Christmas themed pay-per-view where the winner of the match would become the new World Champion. Just as he planned, Michael James was able to win the match and earn the HFW World Championship. From 2000 – 2002, Michael James successfully competed in the HFW during the time Jose Hernandez was in control of the company. During the course of an interpromotional merger with DSW, James decided to take his leave from the company after refusing to comply with the new owner’s demands. A few weeks later a large portion of the roster left the company causing it to fold for a second time.' ' *'Pro Xtreme Wrestling (PXW) ' Shortly after leaving the HFW, Michael James was offered a new contract with a company based out of Los Angeles, California. He was teamed with another wrestler named Justex Rated who much like James was no stranger to the idea of deathmatch wrestling. The two began to gradually dominate the tag team division earning them the world tag team championships in the process. At a high profile event involving the defense of the championships, Michael James turned on Justex and cost them the titles. At the next show the two men were booked against each other in a grueling deathmatch where James was able to pin Justex and take his coveted Triple Threat Championship. At the following pay-per-view event Justex faced James for a second time and earned back his title while suffering a serious injury in the process. Upon Rated’s forced departure from the company, James was awarded the Triple Threat Championship. For the following year and a half James continued working in the PXW until falling into a rivalry with one of the fan favorites named Rip Torn. After Torn won the Triple Threat Championship from James and had it destroyed, James declared a personal war on Torn. The rivalry eventually led to a match at the company’s final pay-per-view where the two competed in a retirement deathmatch for the World Championship. During the course of the match things became so violent the athletic commission was forced to end the match and declared Michael James the new world champion when they failed to revive Rip Torn. When it was announced the PXW was closing its doors after his victory of the World Championship, Michael James attempted to burn down the building. He was arrested and taken to jail on charges of property destruction and arson. Afterwards the athletic commission demanded for James to be stripped of the championship but the owner refuses to give in to their threats. Three days later it was announced the PXW was officially closed. *'WWOI ' In 2005, Michael James signed with a new company based in Australia named WWOI. Due to the owner’s knowledge of his previous work in HFW and PXW, he was given a shot at the mid card champion on the night of his debut. James was able to pin Ryan Delashaw in a matter of seconds and become the new WWOI Television Champion. His victory over Delashaw eventually became a personal vendetta when James refused to grant him a shot at the championship. Over the following months the two men began to gather strength in numbers in order to increase their odds against one another. James created a heel stable called the Hardcore Coalition while Delashaw designed his own group after the classic Four Horsemen. The rivalries eventually lead to the two men squaring off for the vacant World Championship where James was able to defeat Delashaw in an I Quit match. In 2007, the current owner of WWOI sold the company to an American business partner based in the United States. James was informed of the change and agreed to renew his contract. Championships Hardcore Wrestling Alliance (HWA) *HWA All Star Champion (current)